Andy Laker
A writer’s worst enemy
Any writer understands that
procrastination is the scourge of us all, without it we’d all be content with the
quantity of our work, right? We’ve all done it at some time or another, I know
I have. Many times I’ve told myself it
won’t matter if I just have one more go at my new computer game, or watch the
programme I recorded on TV last night. There will always be another chance to write
my best-seller tomorrow.
But will there?
I
hope, for all of you the answer to that question is a resounding yes, but there
is no guarantee. The ability to write well and put into words something that
other people want to read and enjoy reading, is a gift that’s not given to us
all. You’re among the lucky ones and I urge you to use your skills to their
full potential. After all, you could be like me and have it all taken away,
which is why I want to tell you my story, in the hope that you will add it to
your literary armoury. Then, the next time you get the urge to do something
else when you could be writing, you’ll think of me and use your time
productively.
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| Amazon Link |
Don’t
get me wrong, I’m not looking for your sympathy. I genuinely believe that my MS
has opened as many doors as it closed. However, if I’d had a choice, I’d have removed
this particular door from its hinges to ensure it could never close. Unfortunately
I had no influence over which way my MS progressed.
My
love of writing began when I joined the Royal Navy back in the Dark Ages. It
was long before computers and the Internet, when time and paper were at a
premium and every word was precious. I had to think about what I was writing
because there was no delete button on my writing pad. During those long periods
at sea I’d write letters to anyone I thought would write back, telling them in
great detail, what I’d seen and done. Except my mother of course, I spared her
the finer detail, because the exploits of young sailors ashore aren’t for a
mother to read about.
It
was before I’d studied creative writing, but even back then I committed my
senses to paper to tell my stories in the most powerful way I could. I became a
slave to good grammar and could spot a spelling mistake from fifty paces. Then,
like many writers I progressed to poetry and short stories, and I even had some
small pieces of my work published. I was hardly Stephen King, but I felt a buzz
every time I saw something I’d written in a genuine newspaper or magazine.
Following
those small successes I moved on to bigger projects. My first crime novel ‘Time
to Think’ is available on Amazon and my second is almost at the editing stage. Yes,
I’ve had my fair share of rejection slips, but I have always believed life’s
too short to worry about what a nameless editor thinks of my writing and I
learnt to move on.
In
short I loved to write and couldn’t imagine going anywhere without at least a
pencil and paper, to scribble my observations on for use when I got home. Sadly
in 2002 it all began to slip away with my diagnosis of Primary Progressive
Multiple Sclerosis. It was a bombshell I can tell you, but (cliché alert) I
promised my family that I might have MS, but it didn’t have me. I have kept
that promise and after getting over our early shock we carried on with our
lives by adapting to the pressures of my condition. To this day we live life our
way, not the MS way. We just use wheelchairs and hoists to do so, it's no big
deal.
So what’s my point? Well, simply it's that this is
the last piece of creative writing of any length that I will complete. My brain
remains as alert as ever and I still see and hear incidents that I instantly
recognise as potential for a story, but my tired body is weak. A passion for
writing still fills my every waking moment, but my fingers are too stiff to transform
my thoughts into written words. I used to think it would never happen to me but
it has, so I urge you if not for yourself, do this for me. If you are a writer who
lets other preoccupations get in the way, don’t procrastinate, get writing. I
may not be able to write, but I can still read and like millions of other people,
I want to read what you have to say. You have a special talent and you owe it
to yourself and people like me to embrace it. Take it from me, your future is
not an exact science and the skills you hold are too precious to waste on
procrastination.
* * *
Support Andy by reading his superb thriller novel, 'Time to Think' and following him on Social Media:
Eric @ www.ericjgates.com
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